The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1887-02-10
ROBBERY AND ME.

time to listen, for they've all forgotten
Robbery down here, except me; they're |
poor folks, you see, and things drift out /
of folks heads when poverty drifts in.
Robbery? Yes, sir. that was his name /
-leastways the name We gave him |
down here. AS to s. father or mother, |
we never had any. think; never had |
any one in the wide world to belong to |
except our two selves-Bobbery and me.
was the eldest-two long years older |
than him, but then / was blind, you |
much. and Robbery got ahead of me |
after the time when the long days of |
pain slipped into lone night and God
shut me out of the world-not that /
grumble, sir; I've given over that-and
Robbery was always such good lad TO
me that perhaps didn't miss 80 much
after all.
l grew to fancy things and make be-
heve saw a great deal, particularly
after Robbery took to working at bis
trade-shoe-black sir; and sometimes,
when l became accustomed to being
always in the dark, l went out with
Robbery and held the mOncy that ne
made.
Well, not much, perhaps. but enough
for US two. and the little room we had
down at Kingston, over against the
river; only Robbery was an extravagant
lad-not in drink, sir; we were always
a sober lot-but in oranges.
They were almost his ruin. sir-those
oranges. He used to come upstairs
sucking them softly, SO that might not
hear, and thinking to deceive me; but
somehow smelt oranges, and it always
made me sharper to catch Robbery
whistling little tunes to himself on the
way up, just to put me of.
He made q great deal of me, did Bob
bery-along of being blind, you see
and so did the neighbors; but l was
rare proud of him. You don't know
whatit is. sir, to sit alone in the dark
all day, and then, on a sudden, to hear
fellow call out, Here we are againi
Come down and feel the sun set, and
we'll count the coppers." 1t would
make you love any one, sir. who had &
voice like that, let alone fellow like
Robbery.
Perhaps you didn't happen to be in
Kingston. sir, last spring, when the
floods had risen and the land was un-
der water for miles around. Robbery
had to wade little going down to his
work. but he rather liked it be said;
and he used to tuck up his trousers and
call back to me and laugh as the water
crept around his feet; and he said folks
wouldn't want their boots BACKED, he
feared, for the water would soon take
off the polish.
1 used to sit on the window-sill to
feel the sun, and if listened very hard
1 could hear the ripple-ripple of the
| shallow water at every step that Bob
berry made, and it had a pleasant sound,
and made kind CT company feeling;
but when he was out of hearing and it
still kept ripping up against our walls
| the company feeling went away and
left me lonely, and sometimes thought
the water hateful, because it lay for SO
very long between me and Robbery.
Well, once was sitting alone on the
window-sill and the day was very quiet.
SO quiet that did not hear the little
ripping waves; and in the quiet grew
frightened at last, and stretched out my
hands across the sill to feel my way
down. / felt something that made me
shiver and draw back out Of the sun
klight-that made my whole dark life
grow suddenly beautiful and precious
| thIng-I felt the water rippling almost
up to the level of the sill, and / was
quite alone, and Robbery would never
| know.
| did not call out or go mad With
fright. as thought at first l might do;
! only crept away in my everlasting
darkness from the warm sunlight and
| sat down on the bed where Robbery and
! slept together, and put my hands over
my ears to shut out the roar of the wa
| tiers.
How long 1 sat there don't know, but
l think it must have been for hours, for
l felt the sunlight on my face and the
waters rushing around me before /
moved again. was hungry, too, but
when tried to get down and reach the
| cupboard the water took me of my feet
and crept back to the bed and on to
| the shelves of the dresser to be out Of
the way. said my prayers two or
three times, and SAID some prayers for
| Robbery, too, for / knew he would be
sorry when he found me some day where
| had died all alone, and in the dark.
And then tried to think how thinga
| looked from our windows, with the wa
| ter sweeping up to the very sill, and the
red sunset lying on it-and beyond
the pretty town and the steeple in the
clock; and thought it was better for
me to die than Robbery, after all. for
| he could see, while IL had no pleas
ures in my life. And yet wanted to
1 live; / wanted to hear Bobbery's voice
/
and somebody to remember me at last
for was afraid.
| Well, sir, God answers our prayers
sometimes in way that is terribly Just
1t takes US long time 20 find out that
everything is very good. think, but
| we come to learn it at last-and learn,
| too, to leave our prayers as well as the
| answers to God. Somebody did remem-
Der me at last, and came back-some-
body whose laughing voice across the
waters was nearer every minute-some-
| body whose hands were on my shoul-
ders, whose eyes. felt, were on my
face-somebody who had never forgot
ten me-Bobberyi
"Bobbery! Bobberyr' cried, and
stretched out my arms to him.
Robbery said: az came over in
tub-only Think such q IarkI but as l
climbed it at the window our tub drift
ed away, and however we're to get over
/ can't tell"
'.You must think of something"
said. '.BoDbery, it was long day"
''Why, of course it was" Robbery an
sWered, without me- Come along, the
rivers rising like fury"
sis it very wideP'' asked.
20, not niore'n a good stretch from
here to the dry land. but deep. over six
feet, should say. and rising"
'But the bed, Robbery" / said, '1and
the other things"
.'WelI we must just leave them until
it's all right again"
..WIll it ever be all right?'' I asked.
''Why, yes, of course" said Robbery.
He was such asplendid chap. sir, was
Robbery. and so cleYeri He took the
two chairs that were drifsing about the
room and tied them close together, and
then we waded across to the window
and stood upon the sill.
81 think it's jolly good fun" said
Robbery. IF you cs,Hld ONLY see how
your boats bobbIing up and ii Jwn IN
front herei Get in quick. or can't
hold her. Hsrei port her helm, or some
thing! Are you all right?''
SITS splendid. . said; come along"
But when Robbery put his foot on the
unsteady raft she went down on one
side with a plunge Never MUD. . he
said; you've just got to push yourself